1. Field
A plasma electrode device, a method of manufacturing a plasma electrode device, and an air conditioner are disclosed herein.
2. Background
Recently, buildings have been constructed to minimize introduction of external air and to tightly seal an indoor space in order to reduce energy consumption, and therefore, there is a tendency for pollution of indoor air to increase. Therefore, various legal regulations with respect to indoor contaminants are increasingly being reinforced.
While home appliances installed in homes or companies operate, indoor contaminants may be generated and deposited within the home appliances or discharged from the home appliances. The indoor contaminants may cause an unpleasant odor and have a bad impact on a user's health.
For example, in a case of home electric appliances using air containing moisture or water, such as air conditioners, dehumidifiers, air cleaners, refrigerators, or washing machines, for example, pollution may be caused by dust or microorganisms, for example, inside or outside of the home electric appliances. More specifically, the indoor contaminants may be classified into (1) particulate contaminants, such as fine dust or asbestos, for example, (2) gaseous contaminants, such as Carbon dioxide, formaldehyde, or volatile organic compounds (VOC), for example, and (3) biological contaminants, such as viruses, fungi, or bacteria, for example.
A creeping discharge type plasma chemical processing method may be used in order to remove such indoor contaminants. Generally, the creeping discharge type plasma chemical processing method may refer to a method of forming a high density plasma region on an element surface through high frequency discharge using ceramic to generate a large amount of OH radicals and ozone and removing contaminants using the OH radical and ozone.
On the other hand, the ozone generated in the plasma electrode device has a sterilization effect. Therefore, when a small amount of ozone exists in air, a user may feel refreshed. However, when a predetermined amount or more of ozone exists in air, the user may feel uncomfortable, and when the user breathes the ozone for a long period of time, respiratory organs of the user may be damaged. Therefore, it is necessary to appropriately adjust the amount of ozone generated by the plasma electrode device.
In connection with the above technology, the present applicant has filed an application (hereinafter, referred to as “related art”), registered as Korean Patent Registration No. 10-0657476 on Dec. 7, 2006 and entitled “CREEPING DISCHARGE TYPE AIR CONDITIONER”, which is hereby incorporated by reference. The above-described related art discloses a plasma electrode device including a discharge electrode disposed on a top surface of two sheets of insulating dielectrics, which are attached to each other, a ground electrode disposed between the two sheets of insulating dielectrics, and a coating layer that shields the discharge electrode to prevent the discharge electrode from being directly exposed to air. The insulating dielectrics may be coated by an insulating material. For example, the insulating material may include polyvinyl chloride (PVC) or ceramic, for example.
When a high voltage is applied to the plasma electrode device, there are problems that a noise may occur upon operation of the plasma electrode device and plasma discharge stability may decrease. Further, the insulating dielectric used in the plasma electrode device according to the related art is formed of a resin having a low flexibility, such as PVC or ceramic. Therefore, there is a problem that it is difficult to mount the plasma electrode device on a curved surface when mounting it on an air conditioner, for example.